Show Review & Photos: The 1975 @ WaMu Theater

The 1975 lovingly joins my British Bands Seen Live in 2016 list. Last year’s list included Rixton, Kaiser Chiefs and the Wombats, meaning, by the way, that 2015 was an excellent year for visits to Seattle by many of my favorites. Should you follow my tastes, you’ll know the 1975 is one of my most-adored bands. I’ve seen and covered every Seattle date, except for their first here, in 2013. Dammit, I didn’t know about them until later! Catching them four times though? Fantastic.

I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it, the 1975’s follow-up to their first album, The 1975, continues the band’s excellence in combining experimental sounds with beautiful pop. The 1975’s album two hammered America, grabbing a number 1 spot on Billboard, while The 1975 announced the group’s arrival with a number 28 spot on that chart. Unusual and, probably unexpected, for a British band to have achieved this. What lead to these accomplishments? People were smart, and recognized the awesome songs. Also, singer Matthew Healy has a sexy voice separating him from many other chart toppers, and he gets to do some extra gorgeous vocal work in slower songs such as “Fallingforyou,” “Somebody Else,” “Paris” and “A Change of Heart.”

While fans might have thought the night’s setlist would be entirely filled by songs from the 1975’s two albums, there was a surprising number of tracks off the group’s four EPs. Those surprises included “HNSCC,” with goose bump-inducing guitar work by Adam Hann. They also included “Me” and “Fallingforyou,” which might have been totally unfamiliar to the audience if they don’t have the deluxe version of The 1975, where they appear as bonus tracks, or the EPs themselves. Yet they were received enormously well, confirming my suspicion that this group is instantly likable, and has fans who dig deep into the 1975’s discography. The more well-known songs, “Chocolate,” “Sex,” “Heart Out,” “Girls,” “Sex,” “The Sound” and “Love Me” made major earthquakes among the audience.

I’m simply in awe of this band. They’re all that’s great in contemporary music, and they’re touring all over the world this summer. That’s something for music fans to appreciate.

The 1975 (I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it )
Love Me (I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it)
Heart Out (The 1975)
Settle Down (The 1975)
So Far (It’s Alright) (The 1975 bonus track/IV EP)
The City (The 1975/IV EP/Facedown EP)
You (/The 1975 bonus track/IV EP/Sex EP)
HNSCC (The 1975 bonus track/Music for Cars EP)
Menswear (The 1975)
A Change of Heart (I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it)
She’s American (I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it)
Me (The 1975 bonus track, IV EP)
Fallingforyou (The 1975 bonus track/IV EP)
Somebody Else (I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it)
The Sound (I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it)
Robbers (The 1975)
Girls (The 1975)